Automated Announcements

[EuroStar]

There is a station near where I live called Leigh, which is pronounced Lee by the conductor. The correct pronunciation of the station (and village) is Lye. There was an item about it in my local newspaper recently.

[Foghut]

It's very easy to get your head in a bit of a muddlle. Our old trains still have roller blinds, so after leaving the penultimate stop your job is to change it to the destination for when the train is running the other way. The trouble with that is that it plants a seed in your mind, and since both destinations start with a 'B' I do occassionally announce that we're just arriving at the place we left two and a half hours ago.

You know as soon as you've done it though, because you can hear people in the carriage behind you laughing

[hstudent]

I've noticed that the announcements at Manchester Piccadilly are done on an automated system, unless the woman doing them talks in a strange way and always repeats the same mistakes and is at the station all day every day.

Announcements for the Chester via Altrincham service always state "Platform XX for the XX:XX to Chester calling at Stockport ... Lostock (pause) Gra-lam (said unconvincingly) ... and Chester. Ashley, Mobberley, Lostock (pause) Gra-lam (said unconvincingly) and Delamere are request stops."

On one occasion the same voice did an announcement for what should have been a Transpennine Express service to Newcastle after there had been a crash at Newcastle. The announcement said "This train will terminate at Durham today." There was no mention of why or whether a replacement bus would be running.

One automated announcement at Warrington Bank Quay station made me laugh, as it kept getting repeated. It said "The (pause) XX:XX to (pause) Birmingham is delayed by approximately (pause) 40 (pause) eight (pause) minutes. I am very sorry for the severe delay to this service." I'm sure that all the passengers waiting for that service felt much better after getting an apology from an automated system and not being told why the train had been delayed.

[Shed Cat]

Originally Posted by Foghut

It's very easy to get your head in a bit of a muddlle. I do occassionally announce that we're just arriving at the place we left two and a half hours ago.

At least you have rails to run on and cant actually get lost. Not like the poor old coach drivers who type the wrong name into their GPS and end up with all their passengers miles away from their intended destination.

[Foghut]

Originally Posted by Shed Cat

At least you have rails to run on and cant actually get lost.

Well it's never happened to me (touchwood), but I know of a few drivers who have been offered the wrong route and taken it. It must be a horrible feeling when you suddenly realise that you don't recognise where you are and it's going to take quite a bit of embarassing manoevring to sort it out.....in addition to an incident on your licence.

[TPE North West]

Were the 175 automated announcements ever used while the Airport-Blackpool/Cumbria service was TransPennine Express?

The announcements were frequently used on Llandudno runs during 2006 but I can't remember any of the 175s going to Blackpool or Cumbria using the automated in the months leading up to the 185 introduction.

[Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Foghut

Well it's never happened to me (touchwood), but I know of a few drivers who have been offered the wrong route and taken it. It must be a horrible feeling when you suddenly realise that you don't recognise where you are and it's going to take quite a bit of embarassing manoevring to sort it out.....in addition to an incident on your licence.

I've taken the wrong route once, but in my defence I'll say that I had a more experienced man besides me acting as second man. I had stopped the train and was about to get off to go on the phone to tell the signalman about his error, but my assistant told me that I was okay to go this way cos there was another junction a few miles further along where I could get back on the right route. Needless to say he was wrong and we were off in the wrong direction. We had to propel back about a mile to get back on our proper route.

It taught me a very important lesson, which was to take my own advice in future.

On the subject of train announcers though, the worst one that I know is some guy who works at Darlington station. He starts off every announcement with the word "Ingamumum". If he was supposed to say "The train now arriving at platform one is the 13.58 trans pennine express to Liverpool lime street" he'd read it out as "Ingamumum platform one...." etc.

[John_142]

On the Wiral line with the loop the reason it changes at James Stret is because this is were they change the destination and the anouncement is all linked in the same system.

Like when they put it to Not In Service it comes up all through the train,
They come come out with some good ones though on Merseyrail, eg PLEASE MOVE DOWN THE TRAIN TO ALLOW PASSENGERS ON THAT ARE ABOUT TO BOARD THE TRAIN" This comes on when the train is bulging like this moring on the second train we got on at Bank Hall because the other one had a fault.

OTHERS INCLDE

"PICK POCKETS MAY BE OPERATING ON THIS TRAIN"

"PENALTY FARES ARE IN OPERATION ON THIS NETWORK"

"PASSENGERS ARE REMINDED TO KEEP THERE FEET OF THE SEATS"

"THANK YOU FOR TRAVELING WOITH MERSEYRAIL"